Cardinal
by pyrexprodigy
Summary: Miku Hatsune donned the red hood of a huntress many years ago. Now, at the age of nineteen, she's determined to face the ultimate nightmare: an Alpha wolf. Unfortunately, a boy from a nearby village gets mixed up in her hunt and she can barely manage to prevent the deaths of any more innocents. Lenku. Open to other pairing suggestions! DISCOUNTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**I am a terrible human being who needs to stop writing.**

**Like, forever.**

**Welcome to ImaginaryFlower's latest posted catastrophe! If you are interested in continuing, I would certainly appreciate it! If you have any ideas at the end of this first chapter, please share them in the form of a PM or a review! Or ignore this story complete and escape with the use of that little "back page" button up on your screen. **

**If you do choose to read this, I hope you enjoy!**

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**_An excerpt from Book of Hunters, Volume III: A Practical History of, by, and for Hunters:_**

_The traditional red hood worn by those skilled individuals who have passed through their final level of training is something that, despite various changes throughout the years to the way of Hunter life, has yet to be changed. The hood of a Hunter is by far one of the most important things to them; it is a representation of their matron and what they strive to accomplish in the world. Every Hunter should aim to be worthy of donning this red hood, as it is the highest form of respect one might receive from the Hunters' organization._

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Everything was red.

Figuratively speaking. That is, Miku Hatsune knew the entire world was made up of more colors than red, but to her, and to her fellow Hunters, red was the most important color of them all. To the common folk, the villagers they protected, red held greater meaning than any other color. Red was the thread of life that bound them. Red, like blood, was thicker and more meaningful than anything else you could possible bring up.

As a Huntress, Miku knew this well. Her own red hood was well cared for, always as bright as the day she got it, and always sat upon her head. She liked the feeling it gave her. She, the best Huntress in her age group, was the master of the most powerful color, and everyone knew it when she walked past with that billowing red cloak, hood up to hide dangerous green eyes.

That being said, red was the ultimate. Red was power. And most of all, red was protection, skill, and danger.

She could feel the power the red hood gave her when it brushed against her arm, the way it empowered her, allowing her defeat a foe or conquer a rogue. She sometimes couldn't believe that this is what her life had become; she, the smallest girl from a wasteland village, had accomplished the deadly skills needed to become a Huntress. And everyone knew that Hunters and Huntresses were the best.

Sure, a commoner might boast his skill with a sword. A knight could advertise his expertise and experience. But if a Hunter walked past their bar table, they wouldn't dare speak of such accomplishments. For hunters fought an enemy far worse than their fellows.

Miku blinked at the thought of them. The Beta wolves, the Alphas, and the mess of mutants in between. It was a sight for a Huntress like Miku to react at all simply to the thought of her enemies. But while someone may believe her reaction came about because of fear, they would be entirely wrong in thinking so.

Miku wasn't scared. She was excited. More excited than she had been in years. The last time she remembered the blood hammering in her ears this loudly was on her naming day, the day when each hunter or huntress passed their final level of training. The day she had earned her red hood.

But today compared to that in every way. While Miku understood the importance of her naming day, she also understood that her current task was by no means one to belittle. In fact, with each passing moment, Miku could feel her heart slow, her eyes focus, and her every breath come like a planned cosmic event.

Miku Hatsune was, on this cold winter day, assigned to the duty of killing the Alpha wolf.

Beta wolves, a dirty, disgusting lower species that preyed on the weak and did nothing but incite fear and rebellion in Miku's kingdom, were the natural enemies of Hunters. Hunters, having originally descended from the line of Rose Adeen, the first human in history to have ever killed an Alpha wolf, possessed the skills necessary to decimate the wolf population. Not normal wolves, of course. In fact, Hunters had an odd sort of fondness for the creatures, who seemed to get along terribly with their larger counterparts. The Beta and Alpha wolves created regular _canis lupis_ with about as much respect as the bastard child of a monarch. They gave even less respect, if it can even be referred to as that, to the human population and those smaller populations that chose to live alongside them.

Wolves were the bane of human existence. Without Hunters, human kind would have been doomed long ago.

Miku snapped her head to the side only to encounter a young doe breaking through the fresh snow on the forest floor. Its eyes met briefly with hers before correctly assuming she posed no threat. The doe lazily moved on, its nose digging for the last few frostbitten blades of grass below the snow. Poor thing. It likely wouldn't survive the winter.

Miku returned her focus to the general area, blocking out the sounds that came from the doe. Aside from her, there was nothing to be heard apart from the carefully cooing of winter birds. But she knew this wasn't an accurate sum of her present situation. The large tracks she had found through here meant that the wolf, the Alpha, took this route often, perhaps daily. She had been here long enough to track its basic movements, and now she was more than ready for her first confrontation.

Of course, this wouldn't be her last. Alpha wolves were intelligent creatures, with an almost human thought process. You could see it in their eyes when they scanned you. Each blink and twitch of a claw was planned perfectly. It was unnerving to think that a lower, violent animal had such amazing mental capacities, but Miku knew this fact, however controversial it had been in the past, was more than true. Alpha wolves were smart, and before taking them down for a final time, you had to attack one. Attack one and lose.

For such intelligent creatures, Miku wondered why they still fell for the same trick. Every Hunter had applied the same strategy to every Alpha in the past. Know thy enemy was the ultimate motto of a Hunter, and to no wolf did this apply more than an Alpha.

She knew that after having accomplished its attack, an Alpha would be at its weakest. This steady decline would go on for weeks, during which a Hunter would track the Alpha's every step. Finally, when the Alpha could hardly match a Beta in a fair fight, the assigned Hunter would kill it. It was the simplest way of going about it. The queen's knights may complain about the principle of it, the lack of honor in such action, but if it meant the survival of a powerful hunter and the protection of the country, Miku would do what she had to do in order to kill such a disgusting creature.

Her hands itched at her sides, twitching beneath her red cloak. The cloak stuck out against the white of the snow, but it wasn't as though the wolf, a creature attracted to red, would dare ignore the call of such a pretty fabric. What the wolf loved would eventually be its demise.

If Miku cared for poetry, she might have smiled. However, in her current circumstances, she couldn't care less.

She perked up again, listening for a second as the wind whispers unfamiliar sounds in her ears. The crunch of a heavy individual on the snow. A branch, broken in passing. Could it be…?

Miku sighed as a boy passed through her line of sight. He was bundled up against the biting cold, face mostly obscured by hat and scarf. He didn't notice Miku, despite her obvious placement. Dimwit.

Miku's hands relaxed against her thighs as the boy continued to crunch around. Well, now there was no chance the wolf would show up for the next twenty-four hours, not with the stench of human boy all over the path.

With a sniff of disgust, Miku left her position, leaving the unsuspecting male to his own destructive devises.

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The village where Miku was situated on this particular mission was cozy. The community, had Miku cared for such things, was one of inviting people, all neighborly the way their court representative always brought up. The children were an odd bunch of mutants, some human and some a mix of human and whatever other species lived in this village. Miku had nothing against interspecies breeding, for the most part. Hell, it was her job to protect every soul in this village. But these children… They were not attractive. She had seen many on her travels. They did not look like human children; pudgy and adorable. And they did not live like human children. Honestly, what parent could live with their child's early death? Mutant children were not worth the pain they caused.

Nonetheless, Miku protected them. They were just children. They never asked to be born.

Miku's bare cabin was on the edge of town, a little shack that the Hunters' organization rented year-round. There was one of these cabins in every village, designed for the stay of a Hunter. Or a Huntress like Miku. It was odd to sit on that bed and wonder who had been there last year at this time. Were they even still alive, that person who had slept in Miku's bed?

Well, if Miku was alive, then there was always a chance they were, too.

As the youngest Huntress (or Hunter, for that matter) to ever pass her final test, Miku was the prodigy. T was exceptional for anyone under the age of twenty to start training, let alone finish. But Miku, at age nineteen, had seventeen successful Beta kills under her belt, as well at nine Mutt kills. Mutts were the offspring of Alphas and Betas, an odd, twisted animal Miku could hardly stand to look on. They fit somewhere between the two species, their minds warped by a mix of genes that shouldn't have genetically been allowed. Somehow, though, this species was almost as prevalent as the Betas.

Miku hated Mutts. Mutts were chaos, confused by light and sounds and pretty much every other natural occurrence. While Alpha and Beta wolves followed logical patterns, Mutts fit no solid mold. They were, in no uncertain terms, mentally deranged, often ignoring fatal wounds to get at an attacker, bleeding out in their efforts to kill an enemy. It was as though they felt no pain, had no real connection with the world, and existed solely to defy the human concept of cause and effect.

Miku's boots thumped onto the wooden front step of her tiny cabin. Inside, a warm, sparking fire sat in the fireplace. The little girl she paid to maintain the fire in her absence scuttled away from it, her bare feet knocking against old wooden floors.

The girl was adorable, with a bright smile and mismatched teeth that gave away her mutant status. She was obviously the result of an illegal love affair between a human and a Hunter, who were not entirely human themselves. In their own right, they were wolves, sharing a small part of their DNA and attributes with them. But the majority of a Hunter's composition was human, making sure they stuck to the proper side.

This girl had strained, sharp teeth that cut into her lips and gums. There was something about her eyes, too: just slightly too yellow to be entirely human. These tiny details led Miku to believe the girl's status, and she couldn't help feeling sorry for the girl. The offspring of a Hunter and a human rarely live long, happy lives. The constant scabbing around her mouth further showed Miku that she must be in constant, extreme pain from those teeth. They didn't fit right in her human mouth, far too big and growing every day. Sooner or later, her teeth would all have to be pulled, or they would grow straight up through her skull.

Miku offered the girl a rare smile in return, her own sharp teeth neat and tidy. Her DNA worked with her, fit specifically to her body so as to enhance her, not weaken her. Unlike this girl, who had never been designed the way Miku was to hold these wolfish qualities, Miku would survive her attributes. She wished she could say as much for this girl.

"Thank you very much," she said in her kind voice, which if she was being perfectly honest could use some work. The girl ignored this, though.

"My pleasure! It gets me out of the cold, at least," the child replied, her bare toes drumming against the floor.

"Yes, well," Miku continued, unsure how to respond. "I… have your payment. And the treat I owe you, if you would like."

The girl's eyes lit up, excitement brightening her pale features. "Yes! I would be very grateful for that," she said quickly, eagerly, with no remorse for her immediate response. Good. She deserved this, at least.

Miku produced her handful of coins, pressing them into the girl's tiny hand. Compared to her own worn digits, the girl's fingers were soft, with small, ragged cuts and splinters Miku wished she could just ignore. After doing that, she pulled the warm jar of cider from her bag, a sugarcane candy tied to the side with red thread.

"I believe this is enough. Please return at the same time tomorrow; I have more work to do."

The girl nodded, thanking her before sliding into dirty sandals and wading out into the cold with her thick, blanket-like coat. It trailed behind her, collecting snow, and Miku closed the door before she continued to watch. She felt an odd sort of affection for that girl, like one might hold for a sibling. But Miku had no siblings, and she certainly did not have the energy or the time to care for a little girl.

With calloused hands, Miku procured her night meal, gulping down the warm food with finesse. She may have been raised by low-class ruffians, but she knew well enough not to waste a drop of food by bothering with poor manners.

With that, Miku turned to her bed, wishing that sleep would come easily tonight.

It did not.

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**Review if that's your thing. If not, I will see you soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_An excerpt from Rose Adeen: A Rich Life by Lola Martin_**

_Dear Rosie, much like every girl of her time, grew up with the typical wishes of a maiden. She wished herself to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, and the perfect role model. She wished to cook like her sisters, to sew like her best friends, and to run a house like her mother and grandmother before her. Rosie, or Red Hood, as the common folk and higher ups refer to her, was as normal a girl as you could imagine. It's ever so unfortunate that Rosie did not have the same luck as everyone else, though she certainly had something else: a fighting spirit._

_Rosie Adeen had the spirit of a wolf in her, and soon enough she'd let it run wild._

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Miku has never been a fan of popular author Lola Martin's writing. She's far too reporter-esque, her books reading as though she's writing a battle report. A battle report full of street gossip. Did this woman actually do any research?

Miku knew she didn't, because if she did, Miss Martin would know that Rose Adeen, the red-haired saint of Hunters and Huntresses alike, did not have a maiden's aspirations. This was knowledge passed down to the children in the Hunter communes. Everyone inside those high, red walls knew that Rose was far more than a content housewife, or a little girl dreaming of her prince. Rose was a steamy commoner girl, who was not content with her lot in life.

It disgusted Miku that her idol, her distantly related grandmother, had been written as some sort of ditzy princess-wannabe. But as she had not been alive at the time of this book's printing, there was very little she could do about the information inside it. And seeing as this was the latest edition of it (number 13, if anyone happens to be curious), Miku had a feeling that the publishing company wouldn't be fixing these inaccuracies soon.

Admittedly, it was an exciting story they sold. A lonely young girl who had only her wits and her family growing up with few womanly skills and no suitors to speak of. A commoner, a normal child, who grew to be the most important figure in human history. If Miku herself had been raised a normal girl, the hope inside the message of the book would certainly attract her. But as an intelligent young woman with the backstory she had, Miku knew everything in these mottled pages was false, lies concocted to draw in an oblivious audience. And generation after generation, they all seemed to fall for it.

Miku cast the book aside, wishing she had brought better reading material. Her present situation was not the least bit interesting, but it was far better than this waste of paper.

Her red hood, for once, was tucked away, out of sight. Not that the crowd around her would care to look at a pale-faced maiden, small for her age, with nothing much about her that stood up. They would, of course, be wrong to ignore her, but this was what Miku wanted.

Miku sat near the back of an arena. It was small, far smaller than a proper death match arena in the countries she had visited elsewhere. But there was room to fight down below, and room for a crowd full of idiots, wasting their money on fixed bets Miku saw trading hands before the show.

She watched as two muscular men, likely the top bachelors of the village, fought one another, hits beating skin and bones cracking with effort. She saw every twitch of muscle, and knew exactly what was going on.

Of course, she had seen this kind of thing elsewhere. Everywhere, in fact. Fighting was the blood of the kingdom, what made the people strong and capable. While other kingdoms prided themselves in whatever moronic sport they had developed, the age-old tradition of hand-to-hand combat never failed to bring a crowd in.

Strictly speaking, Miku was not supposed to be there. But then again, she wasn't old enough to be sent after an Alpha wolf. Strictly speaking.

Miku allowed her fingers to work at her tangled hair, portraying a typical nervous habit. In reality, this was a forced behavior. Yet another way for a young girl to blend into a crowd. Of course a sweet, young thing like Miku would worry over the battle, but in reality her mind worked like a clock. She saw moves before they were made, she watched as hits were followed through with, and she understood the implication of each twitch of the lip.

Miku Hatsune, despite being an outcast, was an expert at people.

The fight eventually came to a close, the reigning champion easily overtaking his opponent. Miku could feel the disappointment rolling off of her in waves as the crowd went wild, faces masks of glee and accomplishment as though they themselves had defeated the man in question.

Miku couldn't quite feel the way they did. In fact, she couldn't help but feel betrayed. Of course, this was silly, and Miku knew better than to be silly, so she squashed that feeling down as best she could as she stood to leave. She knew that, as soon as the crowd had calmed down, her name would be called, and the crowd would expect for a strong, scarred man to walk confidentially up to that fighting rink. They would expect him to pull off his shirt, revealing years of built-up muscles, and for a hearty banter or a rude word to be exchanged before the fight was officially started. And Miku knew that, when she failed to show up, nothing would come of it but a few minutes of confused silence, broken by muttering, followed by the final decision that the little worm of a man had been too much of a coward to face the village champion.

But the disappointment they felt at having their battle stolen was nothing compared to Miku's disappointment. Because despite the word spread far and wide that Gakupo Kamui, the winner in the rink, was the best there ever was, Miku knew that he was no match for a Hunter.

It was a stupid idea, anyway. She shouldn't have come here.

Miku left the stuffy wooden building, the night pressing down around her. Lanterns caught fresh snow on the ground, sending sparkles across the white surface. It was pretty tonight, with a few amount of people out on the streets. The markets had been moved inside for the winter, and firewood sat piled on porches. Miku's twenty-four-hours would be up soon, but for tonight she was too tired to stay up until that point. Besides, her sharp ears had yet to pick up the inevitable village gossip that came with an Alpha wolf. "Sheep killed, nightmares in every house, animals acting up… You don't think it's…?"

The town was safe for now. And she was done wasting time. She would head home and sleep, rise for an early morning and head out to scour the forest. Where an Alpha wolf was, there were always other wolves to be found. A Mutt or two could appear. Miku had already taken care of a Beta, which was worth 500 gold pieces alone. She could buy the entire village with that money.

Miku trod along through the falling snow, her cloak now secured around her shoulders. It kept the cold off her quite well, repelling water and melting snow. Her breath came in white clouds and her nose stung with cold, but she found herself otherwise comfortable and suited to the cold.

She was reminded that others were not quite as lucky as her when she stopped suddenly, hearing the sharp breathing of something small. It was a human child – no, a mutant child. Their breath was not strong. In fact, if Miku listened hard enough, she could hear a weakening heartbeat. Understanding that no danger lie in wait for her, she turned to the source, and nearly froze.

The tiny, malnourished body of her firecare girl lay back against a snow mound, hidden by shadow and falling flakes. Her skin was terrible ill-looking, and Miku knew she would not last long in this cold. What could have possessed this child to stray into the cold winter night like this? Miku couldn't imagine, but that wasn't important for now.

Miku didn't hesitate in scooping the girl up, her red cloak wrapped around her. She had whipped it off without a moment's thought and proceeded to carry the limp girl through the streets as though she were a doll. Miku, while not the strongest Huntress, could certainly take the weight of a little girl in her arms.

Soon enough, she reached her cabin, tucking the girl into her own bed and dragging it closer to the fire. She carefully worked a towel through her long, knotted hair, doing her best to dry her off. It took a while for her breathing to ease, but Miku felt more than confident she would survive. She may be weak by human standards, but there were things about the mutant girl that would certainly aid her after a night in the harsh cold.

Miku heated a skim of water, placing it on the girl's forehead. Her cheeks began to regain some color, and Miku determined that it would be safe to leave her alone.

With no options left to her, Miku curled up on the floor by the fire, her cloak wrapped around her like a blanket.

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In the morning, when cruel dawn light awoke her, Miku stretched like a cat front her night's sleep on the floor. It wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded; wolves slept on the ground outside. Miku, with her tiny percent of wolf DNA, could stand a night on a hard, wood floor in front of a fire.

The girl still remained curled in her bed, eyes shut and skin raw from the cold. She was alive, at least.

Miku eyed her before going about her normal morning routine, which involved no shortage of weapon-readying. While Miku did not rely on weapons in the heat of action, preferring to use her hands and her body to fight, she understood the importance of understanding how to use weapons. The dagger at her belt was the only one in her arsenal that saw much action. The crossbow, sword, and dual combat fists (an interesting invention that allowed her to channel her energy into her punches) were rarely used, unless for the purpose of training. Miku wasn't the only Huntress to prefer this way, but those who preferred weapons were not in short supply, either.

Miku did love her weapons in her own way, but above anyone else she understood their importance over their sentimental value. The dual combat fists may have been given to her by her old instructor on her naming day, but Miku knew she couldn't use them as effectively as possible yet. Until she was stronger with them than without them, she would not use them in battle.

As she wrapped her traditional cloth strips around the naming scars on the back of her hand, there was a knock on the door. Instantly, she became aware of the scent of worry, and perhaps fear. There was an underlying scent she didn't understand, but the main thing she realized was that she had allowed herself to be surprised.

Miku went to open the door under a rush of mental self-correction. She shouldn't have let such a thing happen. She had to get her head in the present. Miku Hatsune was better than this.

She opened the old cabin door to see a familiar boy standing there nervously. He was taller than her, which was in no way surprising, and he seemed more than terrified to meet her eyes. In an instant, Miku recognized him as the useless human boy who had stalled her mission, and couldn't help but feel immediate contempt for him.

"Uh, hello," he greeted her. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for my little sister. She comes by here to tend your fire."

Miku gestured with her head inside, where the girl still lay sleeping. The boy took it as a welcome inside, and stepped past her into the warm cabin.

He instantly gasped and looked at her in an accusing way. "What is she doing in your _bed?_" he demanded. The allegation was obvious, but Miku shut down his thought process with a bland look that made him flinch.

"I am not so despicable as to lure a child into my bed, you cretin," she replied. "I found her last night, out in the cold." _Some appreciation is in order, not ungrateful accusations,_ she thought.

"I apologize," the boy replied, looking worn to the point of breaking. "I just… I've been so worried. I thought the worst might have happened."

Miku didn't say anything, allowing the boy into her personal quarters in order to sit next to his sleeping sister. She didn't stir, her nose wrinkling at the boy's familiar scent.

Looking closer at him, Miku could tell her had no wolf blood in him. He was a pure human being, unlike his younger sister. It was obvious the two did not share the same two parents.

Apart from his obvious human qualities, Miku noticed that, for a young human boy, he was fairly attractive. He did not seem physically inclined, his body thin and tired beneath his worn clothes. He looked very similar to his sister, his messy blonde hair splayed in much the same way, his eyes shaped into the same odd ovals. But unlike the girl, he looked worn and sad in ways a child should not look. He couldn't have been much younger than Miku, but he seemed to carry his own weight. Miku knew peasants and commoners often led difficult lives, and she did what she could about that, but she couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy.

"Thank you for taking care of her," he spoke up suddenly, running his hand gently over the girl's messy hair. She continued to sleep as he did. "If… if it's not any trouble, could she stay here for the day?"

Miku didn't question the request. "I don't see why not. However, in return, you must tend to my fire instead. I have work to do and I don't feel particularly inclined to come home to a freezing bed."

The boy nodded. "I can do that," he agreed.

Miku slipped into her red cloak and noticed the look that crossed the boy's face. "Help yourself to the food. And keep your sister warm, boy," she instructed as she finished preparing for the day. She didn't wait for an answer as she entered the cold winter outside. More snow fell softly, covering tracks in the snow. There weren't many, but she saw that a rabbit had been past that morning, not too long ago. She could probably follow after it if she wished, to catch and kill it for dinner. But the Alpha wolf was more important, so she let the animal be.

Her own boots made deep marks in the snow, crunching underfoot. She disliked hunting in this weather. While the prey was easier to spot, you were also easier prey yourself. It added a whole new world of things to worry about and focus on, but the hunt was where Miku thrived and after years a practice, it was second nature to work in snow and frost such as this.

Miku blew out a heavy breath, watching the wind carry away the cloud she sent up into the air. She saw no villagers nearby and came to the conclusion that few individuals would venture into the forest today. An upside of the colder months, she supposed.

With one last glance at her makeshift home, she turned to her task and left the siblings to fend for themselves for the day.

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**Review if that's your thing. If not, see you next chapter!**


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